


Independence

by MidnightWolfy



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Disabled Character, Felicity in a wheelchair, Gen, service dog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-08-17 10:11:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8140199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightWolfy/pseuds/MidnightWolfy
Summary: A rewrite of when Felicity first meets Oliver until she joins Team Arrow.A little dip into a world where Felicity is wheelchair bound way before she meets Oliver.





	

**Author's Note:**

> If there is something that I missed or needs to be changed with regards to her disability please please tell me.
> 
> This is unbeta'd, if there is any errors please let me know. 
> 
> Any thing recognized from the show (including but not limited to settings, dialogue, and characters) do not belong to me.

“Felicity Smoak?” 

Hearing her name, Felicity looked up and her eyes widened, here in her little office was none other than the CEO’s stepson, Oliver Queen. She pulled the pen from her mouth in stunned silence. When he introduced himself, she couldn’t help but babble into a hole of embarrassment. When he presented her with a laptop, she wheeled herself closer to inspect the damage. 

The next time she sees Oliver Queen is when she is called to an office to help him connect with one of his ‘old friends’. She was glad that everyone seemed to have a place to be as she wheeled her way through the unfamiliar hallways of the upper floors. When she reached the closed door of the office she knocked. When a swift “come in” came from inside she rolled her eyes at the door. She unclipped the carabiner that attached a leash to her chair and told her four legged companion to open the door. The Labrador wagged her tail as she performed her task, pawing the handle until it clicked then nosing the door open wide. Felicity wheeled in only to be confronted with a concerned blond. Oliver’s brow furrowed as he took a step towards her,

“Felicity?” He asked with concern. Felicity ignored him as she told her dog to close the door and praised her highly as she returned to her heel position. 

“You didn’t notice when you asked me to help you with the laptop, did you?” Felicity said in disbelief. 

“I uh…” Oliver said nervously scratching the back of this neck. 

“That’s okay,” Felicity said wheeling up to where Oliver had been sitting, she stopped next to the black cozy chair that she suspected was for her. She spotted a dark man standing near a desk that might have been his, “Hi?”

“John Diggle,” He replied holding out his hand, “Nice to meet you.”

“Felicity Smoak, nice to meet you too, Mr. Diggle,” She said shaking his hand. 

“So um… who’s this?” Oliver said mentioning to the black dog that was laying patiently by her left wheel. 

“She is my service dog, Veronica,” Felicity said reaching into the backpack hanging from her chair to get her laptop out, “What did you need?” 

“I need you to look someone up for me,” he said as he settled into the chair in front of her. 

“I should just add Oliver Queen’s personal internet researcher to my job title,” She said then nervously adjusted her glasses, “Happily, I mean.” 

Surprisingly, Felicity found that Oliver Queen wasn’t put off by her wheelchair or Veronica, as he continued to come to her for help. Scaring the bejesus out of her when she was concentrating on her work for Walter, to ask about an arrow, interrupting her when she was eating to break into an encrypted security fob and teasing her with red wine, and stalking her through Queen Consolidated to run an analysis on not-an-energy-drink. 

Even with all the lame excuses and suspicious activity Felicity felt that she could trust Oliver. So when Walter vanished she felt that she could go to him. Big Belly Burger was close to her house and the appointment was made. The rain made her just a bit later than usual, she dressed Veronica is a waterproof rain jacket and put gloves on to keep the wet sidewalk nastiness off of her hands. The burger joint was somewhere she frequented and Veronica knew just want to do when they came to the door she pushed it and sat so that she was holding it open for Felicity. She wheeled in and her loyal companion followed shortly after. Oliver had been sitting at the high bar facing the window but had moved to one of the shorter tables to be face to face with her. It was sweet and made her a little less nervous about their meeting. Veronica padded under the table and tucked herself content to nap as her partner talked. 

After the meeting Felicity felt emotionally drained but lighter than she had in weeks. Oliver finally knew about the mysterious book and he could do what needed to be done for his stepfather. So Felicity returned to work and everything was normal for a while until it wasn’t. 

Felicity was lucky to have a hand-controlled car so she could drive herself to and from places. Independence was something she never took for granted and the act of driving was something she would never get tired of. She opened the passenger door and buckled Veronica in while the side door opened and the ramp came down. As she was wheeling herself in she just about jumped out of her skin seeing a Green hooded figure in her back seat. She caught her chair at the last minute as it started to roll back down the ramp. 

“I’m not going to hurt you, Felicity,” the huddled figure said in a strained voice. 

“How do you know my name?” she asked. 

“Because you know my name,” the figure, Oliver said as he pulled off his hood. 

The drive to his father’s steel factory was nerve racking and Felicity still couldn’t believe she had agreed to take him there instead of the hospital. Once she got there it seemed like the ramp was taking its sweet time to open up. 

“Come on, come on,” she muttered as she bounced in her seat impatiently. She unbuckled Veronica before she realized it might not be the best idea. The dog paced around as she sensed her partner’s distress. Felicity attempted to get Oliver down from the car but he was too heavy for her so she put Veronica in a down stay by Oliver and wheeled into the factory looking for Mr. Diggle. Oliver has assured her that he would be here. After a slight altercation, they successfully got Oliver onto the medical table. 

The rest was a blur of orders and blood, adrenaline was an amazing thing she decided. Once Oliver was stable she used that time to upgrade their poorly set up system. It hurt her deeply to see such a technological travesty. Veronica whined and Felicity realized it had been a long time since the dog was allowed to potty and it was way past her dinner time. So she took the lab out to do her business before finding the emergency stash of dog food that she kept in her van for a rainy day and as Mr. Diggle said “It’s pouring”. Returning inside she set up a feeding station and filled a bowl with water. With her dog content to munch and drink at her leisure, Felicity went back to the newly upgraded system to wait. 

When Oliver was up and none the worse for wear, she found herself agreeing to help him. Joining the team was not something that she had planned on but it was the logical choice to help find her friend even if she didn’t find the route very ethical. She did get Oliver to promise that he’d have a more assessable bathroom before she would return though.


End file.
